Robert Conley
Encyclopedia
Robert Conley is an American newspaper, television and radio reporter.
for The New York Times
in the 1950s and 1960s, bureau chief
for NBC News
, Africa
, as well as foreign correspondent for NBC News' The Huntley-Brinkley Report throughout the 1960s, editor
for and contributor to National Geographic magazine in late 1960s to early 1970s, and first host of the groundbreaking and popular National Public Radio (NPR) radio news and cultural program All Things Considered
in the 1970s.,
, reporting on national events, often for the front page. As major news events in Africa began to develop throughout the 1960s, The New York Times made Conley its foreign correspondent for Africa, based in Nairobi
, Kenya
.
to Zanzibar
, a time when overseas news bureau
s for the United States were not so ubiquitous as in later times.
that established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
and also led to the creation of the Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS).
All Things Considered made its debut on May 3, 1971, broadcasting in 32 states, with Conley as host., As described in an article by Hal Klopper for the Fall 2006 newsletter of the Carnegie Corporation of New York:
To listen to segments from the inaugural broadcast of All Things Considered, and more, visit NPR's Happy 40th To All Things Considered.
Overview
Foreign correspondentForeign correspondent
Foreign Correspondent may refer to:*Foreign correspondent *Foreign Correspondent , an Alfred Hitchcock film*Foreign Correspondent , an Australian current affairs programme...
for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in the 1950s and 1960s, bureau chief
News bureau
A News bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate geographic location or scope of coverage: a ‘Tokyo bureau’ refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; foreign bureau is a generic term for a news office set up...
for NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, as well as foreign correspondent for NBC News' The Huntley-Brinkley Report throughout the 1960s, editor
Editor
The term editor may refer to:As a person who does editing:* Editor in chief, having final responsibility for a publication's operations and policies* Copy editing, making formatting changes and other improvements to text...
for and contributor to National Geographic magazine in late 1960s to early 1970s, and first host of the groundbreaking and popular National Public Radio (NPR) radio news and cultural program All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
in the 1970s.,
The New York Times
Before going overseas for The New York Times, Conley was first based in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, reporting on national events, often for the front page. As major news events in Africa began to develop throughout the 1960s, The New York Times made Conley its foreign correspondent for Africa, based in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
NBC News and The Huntley-Brinkley Report
In the mid 1960s, NBC News made Conley the bureau chief of its Africa bureau. From its base in Nairobi, Kenya, Conley travelled across the African continent covering events and filing stories for NBC News and its affiliated programs such as The Huntley-Brinkley Report. Conley's news beat took him from AngolaAngola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
to Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
, a time when overseas news bureau
News bureau
A News bureau is an office for gathering or distributing news. Similar terms are used for specialized bureaus, often to indicate geographic location or scope of coverage: a ‘Tokyo bureau’ refers to a given news operation's office in Tokyo; foreign bureau is a generic term for a news office set up...
s for the United States were not so ubiquitous as in later times.
NPR and All Things Considered
National Public Radio (NPR) was incorporated on February 26, 1970, following the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967Public Broadcasting Act of 1967
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 set up public broadcasting in the United States, establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and eventually the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio .When Lyndon B...
that established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
and also led to the creation of the Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS).
All Things Considered made its debut on May 3, 1971, broadcasting in 32 states, with Conley as host., As described in an article by Hal Klopper for the Fall 2006 newsletter of the Carnegie Corporation of New York:
The inaugural broadcast included a report on a 26-year-old woman’s attempts to deal with heroin addiction; a report from Ames, Iowa, on a novel means of supplementing business at a barbershop (shaving women’s legs); a discussion with two NPR reporters and a correspondent from the Christian Science Monitor regarding that day’s massive protest in Washington, D.C., against US involvement in the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
; the reading of three antiwar poems; and a conversation between the poet Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
and his father about the legality of drugs.
The show began, though, with a remarkable and dramatic 20-minute sound montage of the demonstration in Washington introduced by All Things Considered’s first host, former New York Times staff member and NBC correspondent Robert Conley.
To listen to segments from the inaugural broadcast of All Things Considered, and more, visit NPR's Happy 40th To All Things Considered.